 |
| インタビューにも登場、イギリスから石垣に民謡を学びにきたマットさん待望のコラム、英語と日本語バージョン同時にスタートです！ |
 |
|
Yaeyama
has long been known as a region rich in song and dance. Although the
population is only about 50,000 people, the region has for many years
produced a disproportionate number of top-class singers. I first became
interested in Yaeyaman music through cd's by artists such as Yamazato
Yukichi, Daiku Tetsuhiro and Asato Isamu, while I was living in mainland
Japan, and wanted to find out why the region is so rich in musical
traditions.
One reason is that the music of Yaeyama is deeply embedded
in the traditional ritual life of the islands and makes up an important
part of yearly rituals and festivals. Yaeyama, like the rest of Japan
has a modern culture with mobile phones, computers etc. Alongside
this owever, there exists a culture based on the agricultural cycles
which were prevalent until quite recently.
On the western shores of Taketomi island, on Tomodoi beach,
is a stone about the size of a ten year old child, known as the niran
stone. According to legend, this stone was originally used as a mooring
post by the Gods who brought seeds to Taketomi from the other-world.
Every year on the 8th day of the 8th lunar month, the priestesses
of Taketomi gather in front of the niran stone to welcome the gods
who bring a good harvest. This year the ritual took place in mid-September.
It had been raining through the night, but by 6.30 in the morning
the skies were clearing and the crows were circling above as we walked
down from Hazama village to the beach. The priestesses, dressed in
white robes, arrived by minibus and lined up on mats facing the sea
in front of the niran stone.
The ritual started with a barely audible murmur of a prayer,
which was soon overtaken by the clatter of gongs and drums as the
song 'tunchama' started up. I had heard the song many times on recordings,
but the combination of the early morning haze over the sea, with the
sight of the old women beckoning the gods with their hands, and the
simple yet haunting melody, was deeply moving.
Following the ritual, the group carried the gifts from the
gods (by minibus - the wheels of time turn even in Taketomi) up to
the Kutsukuba shrine, and through the villages, being greeted on the
way by members of each village singing and dancing the gari dance
accompanied by cries of 'sa sa sa' and the loud beating of drums and
gongs.
The song 'tunchama' which forms a central part of this ritual
was given a new incarnation recently when it was recorded by the Taketomi-born
musician, Hidekatsu on his 1994 album 'Shinpi naru yoake'. Although
Hidekatsu's version is arranged into a modern style, I think it captures
some of the beauty and tension of the original Taketomi ritual song. |
|
